Cubs Recall Great `Snaps' Of The Past

SAN FRANCISCO — No one enjoys watching a player snap more than other ballplayers.

And Carlos Perez's now famous dugout assault on a large liquid container Wednesday was rated a four-star snap by most Cubs.

The Dodgers pitcher took 13 whacks at the container with his bat, failing to destroy it but giving Perez more airtime than he has had in years.

Was it truly a "classic snap"?

"They're all good," Jeff Blauser said. "Snapping is great."

Some call 1999 the "Year of the Grand Slam." So far, it's also the "Year of the Snap."

Dodgers pitcher Kevin Brown took a bat to a toilet in spring training. Oakland pitcher Kenny Rogers destroyed a toilet-paper dispenser and three phones two weeks ago in San Francisco. Baltimore's Albert Belle recently threw a beer bottle through a clubhouse TV set.

Cubs players recalled some of their favorite snaps before Thursday's game in San Francisco. Benito Santiago remembered former Padres teammate Goose Gossage setting a new speed record in a toilet-busting spree in the Astrodome. "He broke three toilets in only a minute and a half," Santiago said.

Tyler Houston recalled the time his minor-league teammate, Chipper Jones, slammed a bat into the ground one day after failing in the clutch.

"The bat bounced up and knocked out two of his front teeth," Houston said.

Blauser fondly recalled former Braves teammate Ted Simmons turning over a picnic table full of food and baseballs during an entertaining tirade. Mark Grace enjoyed Brian McRae's frequent snaps, but said Danny Jackson was a snapper without peer.

"Every fifth day, he'd destroy a TV or a phone," Grace said. "That's why we called him `Jason."'